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TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

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Talc  Mining  in  New  York 1 

Importance  and  Distribution  of  Talc  in  New  York 1 

Mode  of  Occurrence 1 

Description  of  Individual  Mines  and  Plants  2 

St.  Lawrence  Talc  Company,  Natural  Bridge,  New  York  ....  2 

Mining  3 

Milling  4 

Uniform  Fibrous  Talc  Company,  Talcville,  New  York  6 

Milling  6 

International  Pulp  Company,  Gouverneur,  New  York 9 

Mining  * * - 9 

Milling  9 


77,  H.  Loomis  Talc  Corporation,  Gouverneur,  New  York  , ...  13 


V 


■ 


■ 


Serial  Ho.  2171 


TALC  MINING  IN  HEN  YORK 

By  Raymond  B.  Ladoo  (Mineral  Technologist,  Bureau  of  Mines  ). 
Importance  and  Distribution  of  Talc  in  New  York 


Talc  mining  in  the  State  of  New  York  was  first  started  about  1876,  hut 
important  production  did  not  start  until  1880,  when  about  4,000  tons  were  shipped. 
In  1883  the  production  was  about  6,000  tons  valued  at  $75,000,  or  an  average  of 
$12»50  per  ton.  From  this  date  the  production  gradually  increased  to  a peak  of 
93,236  tons  in  1916,  valued  at  $951,510  or  about  $10.30  per  ton.  In  1918  the 
production  declined  to  71,167  tons  valued  at  $902,100,  or  about  $12.70  per  ton. 

For  many  years  New  York  was  the  largest  producer  in  the  United  States,  but  in  1917 
and  1918  its  output  was  surpassed  by  Vermont  in  tonnage  though  not  in  value.  In 
June,  1920,  there  were  three  companies  producing  talc  in  the  Gouvemeur  district, 
St.  Lawrence  County,  and  one  near  Natural  Bridge. 


Mode  of  Occurrence 

The  geology  of  the  talc  deposits  of  New  York  has  been  described  in  detail 
by  C.  H.  Smyth,  Jr.,  (N.Y.  State  Mus . Kept.  47,  1894,  pp.  491-515;  also  N.Y.  Stat 
Mus.  Rept.  49-2,  1898,  pp,  661-671).  and  D-  H.  Newland,  (Bull.  Education  Dept,, 

N.  Y.  State  Museum,  No.  522,  1912,  pp.  91-100.)  The  following  brief  description 
is  by  Newland,  (N.Y. State  Mas.  Ball.  178,  1915,  pp.  78-80): 

"The  Gouvemeur  talc  district  consists  of  a narrow  belt,  lying  to  the 
southeast  and  east  of  that  village  in  the  towns  of  Fowler  and  Edwards,  in 
which  the  talc  occurs  in  lenticular  bodies  arranged  in  series  along  the 
strike.  The  bodies  dip  uniformly  toward  the  northwest  at  angles  of  from 
30°  to  60°,  so  that  they  are  all  worked  by  underground  methods.  The  wall 
rocks  are  limestone  and  schist  of  Precambric  age,  a part  of  the  Adirondack 
crystalline  formations.  The  fibrous  talc  is  an  alteration  product  of 
tremolite  which  it  resembles  in  physical  development,  but  the  scaly  talc 
apparently  is  the  result  of  deposition  by  underground  waters.  Altogether 
there  are  fully  fifteen  or  twenty  different  deposits,  some  of  which,  however, 
are  not  profitable  under  present  conditions,  and  others  are  being  held  in 
reserve.  The  number  of  operative  mines  in  recent  years  has  ranged  from 
five  to  eight  or  nine  ..... 

"A  deposit  of  talc  near  Natural  Bridge  has  been  worked  for  the  last  four 
years,  and  has  supplied  a considerable  quantity  of  material  which  is  sold 
in  ground  form.  This  deposit  occurs  in  limestones,  but  in  a separate  area 
from  the  Gouvemeur  belt  and  has  a quite  different  character.  The  talc 
lacks  any  definite  structure,  except  that  it  shows  a granular  appearance 
in  places,  and  is  associated  with  other  hydrated  silicates  of  the  serpentine 
and  chlorite  groups.  It  appears  to  be  a contact  deposit,  lying  near  an 
intrusion  of  granite." 


. 


The  fibrous  talc  of  the  Gouverneur  district  is  entirely  different  in 
appearance  and  physical  properties  from  that  of  the  natural  Bridge  deposit  and 
from  the  talcs  found  in  other  parts  of  the  country*  It  is  an  alteration  product 
of  tremolite  and  often  shows  the  typical  tremolite  structure*  Much  of  the  material 
mined  as  talc  is  probably  not  talc  but  tremolite  or  a product  of  partial  altera- 
tion, as  it* is  often  2 to  3g  in  hardness  (pure  talc  is  1)  and  has  little  slip* 

The  foliated  talc  found  here  more  closely  resembles  other  talcs  but  is  usually 
harder  and  more  micaceous.  The  hardness  and  fibrous  structure  make  grinding  and 
separation  more  difficult  than  in  most  other  districts,  but  the  present  practice 
could  probably  be  improved-  Bor  example,  the  separation  of  the  crude  rock  into 
two  or  more  grades  and  the  milling  of  each  by  separate  processes  would  doubtless 
make  more  uniform  products  which  would  be  better  adapted  to  certain  specific  uses* 

Economy  in  the  use  of  power  has  not  been  important  in  the  Gouverneur 

district  in  the  past,  but  is  now  becoming  a factor,  and  steps  are  being  taken  to 

devise  more  economical  methods  of  grinding.  It  seems  probable  that  in  the  working 
out  of  this  problem  not  only  will  power  consumption  be  decreased  but  better  pro- 
ducts will  be  obtained. 

The  ore  reserves  of  the  New  York  districts  are  probably  large  although 
little  accurate  information  is  available.  The  talcose  zone  in  the  Gouverneur  dis- 
trict is  known  to  be  more  than  a mile  wide  and  numerous  deposits  have  been  opened, 
but  prospecting  has  not  been  done  on  a scale  adequate  to  block  out  large  tonnages. 
Diamond- drilling  has  been  done  by  one  company  but  this  served  to  locate  veins  rather 
than  to  prove  reserves.  Sufficient  diamond  drilling  to  definitely  block  out  ample 
reserves  would  be  very  beneficial. 

The  method  of  mining  commonly  employed  in  this  district  is  to  sink  a shaft 
on  the  ore  vein,  extend  levels  or  drifts  in  each  direction  from  the  shaft  along 
the  strike  of  the  vein,  and  then  at  intervals,  raises  are  put  up,  pillars  being 
left  between  the  raises.  As  a rule,  little  timbering  is  needed,  except  in  frac- 
tured zones.  Formerly,  most  of  the  mines  in  this  district  had  only  one  opening 
to  the  surface,  which  is  not  in  conformity  with  the  present  New  York  State  law, 
and  some  difficulty  has  been  experienced  for  this  reason. 


DESCRIPTION  OF  INDIVIDUAL  MINES  AND  PLANTS. 

St,  Lawrence  Talc  Co.  (Carbola  Chemical  Co.)  Natural  Bridge, N.Y . 


The  mine  and  mill  of  the  St.  Lawrence  Talc  Co.  or  its  successor,  the 
Carbola  Chemical  Co.,  are  located  about  l'k  miles  from  Natural  Bridge  station,  near 
the  line  between  Lewis  and  Jefferson  Counties,  New  York.  A railroad  spur  about 
■4  mile  long  connects  the  mill  with  the  Carthage  and  Adirondack  Branch  of  the  New 
York  Central  R.  R. 


-2- 


Mining . 


The  talc  deposit  here  appears  oo  be  a replacement  of  very  irregular  size 
and  shape.  Its  strike  appears'  to  be  nearly  North  and  South,  but  it's  dip  cannot  be 
determined.  Dillcr  (U. S* Gcol. Survey,  Min.  Res.  1912,  p.25.)  says  of  this  deposit: 
"The  talc  is  associated  with  serpentine  and  limestone.  Near  by  are  highly  crystal- 
line, for  the  most  part  gneissoid  rocks.  The  talc  where  opened  to  view  lacks  dis- 
tinct schistosity  or  fibrous  structure,  and  is  rather  massive.  The  sides  of  the 
talc  body  are  very  irregular  ....  Although  in  general  the  talc  is  highly 
magnesian,  some  of  it,  as  shown  by  laboratory  tests  with  nitrate  of  cobalt,  con- 
tains much  alumina  suggesting  pyropbyllite . " The  deposit  has  been  traced  along  its 
outcrop  for  a mile  north  from  the  shaft  and  is  a maximum  of  90  feet  in  width  in  the 
present  workings.  Between  the  foot  and  hanging-walls  proper,  large  "bowlders"  of 
limestone  are  often  encountered.  Usually  these  may  be  left  as  waste  pillars  but 
sometimes  they  must  be  shot  out  and  either  stowed  away  underground  or  hoisted  to 
the  surface.  In  addition  to  the  limestone  "bowlders",  nodules  of  quartz  and  lime- 
stone, and  small  particles  of  pyrite  and  graphite  are  common.  A great  many  varie- 
ties of  talc  are  encountered.  No  development  work  by  drilling  has  been  done  and, 
due  to  the  great  irregularity  of  the  deposit,  no  close  estimation  of  reserves  may 
be  made;  but  it  seems  probable  that  there  is  a large  tonnage  still  available. 

The  mine  is  opened  by  a 10'  x 12*  single- compartment  inclined  shaft  dipping 
at  an  angle  of  57°  for  the  first  45  feet  and  68°  below  that  point.  Three  levels 
have  been  opened,  the  first  at  100  feet,  the  second  at  147  feet,  and  the  third  at 
202  feet  vertically  below  the  surface.  The  first  level,  the  only  one  which  has 
been  developed  extensively,  lias  been  opened  for  a total  length  of  600  feet,  mainly 
to  the  north  of  the  shaft.  Drifts  have  been  cut  along  the  foot  and  hanging  walls, 
outlining  the  ore  body,  and  connected  at  frequent  intervals  by  crosscuts.  Both 
the  ore  and  the  walls  are  badly  fractured  in  places  so  that  it  is  not  always  safe 
or  advisable  to  follow  the  walls  closely.  Thus  in  places  the  drifts  are  not  on 
the  walls  but  in  solid  ore  near  the  walls.  The  presence  of  limestone  boulders  and 
fractured  zones  in  the  ore  govern  the  location  of  cross  cuts,  resulting  in  their 
location  at  irregular  intervals.  Little  timber  is  needed  in  the  mine  except  where 
the  openings  break  into  a fractured  zone. 

Although  the  mine  has  been  worked  for  a number  of  years,  little  real  mining 
has  been  done,  most  of  the  ore  used  in  the  mill  coming  from  the  network  of  develop- 
ment openings  on  the  first  level.  No  systematic  method  of  mining  has  been  devised, 
but  it  is  planned  to  continue  the  present  method  of  development  to  the  limits  of 
the  ore  body  or  until  the  workings  get  too  far  from  the  shaft.  Then  raises  will 
be  put  up.,,  beginning  farthest  from  the  shaft  and  taking  advantage  of  the  fractured 
zones.  In  places  a single  shot  will  start  a run  of  broken  ore  which  will  last  for 
days.  Stoping  will  therefore  be  inexpensive  but  probably  admixture  with  waste  will 
prevent  recovery  of  all  the  ore. 

The  problem  of  drainage  has  always  been  a severe  one,  as  the  fractured 
condition  of  the  ore  and  walls  permits  much  surface  water  to  get  into  the  mine. 

The  mine  has  been  "drowned"  several  times  in  the  past,  but,  profiting  by  this 
experience,  adequate  pumping  capacity  is  now  available  and  there  should  be  no 
further  trouble.  All  pumps  are  electrically  driven  by  220-volt,  3-phase,  60-cycle 
alternating  current.  One  pump  is  located  on  the  first  level  and  four  pumps  with 
a large  sump  in  the  second  level.  In  addition  to  the  sump  an  old  section  of  the 


-3- 


/ 


mine  has  "been  sealed  off  with  a concrete  bulkhead  provided  with  two  4-inch  valves. 
In  this  way  a very  large  flow  can  be  cut  off  for  as  long  as  a week,  in  case  of 
accident  to  the  pumps.  Separate  discharge  lines  are  run  to  the  surface  for  each 
pump.  The  total  pumping  capacity  installed  is  1350  gallons  per  minute  driven  by 
a total  of  175  horsepower.  The  maximum  flow  of  water  has  been  850  gal.  per  min., 
but  in  the  summer  it  is  not  over  250  to  275  gal.  per  min.  All  pumps  are  run  part 
of  each  day  to  keep  them  in  working  condition. 

The  drilling  equipment  now  in  use  consists  of  three  compressed-air  drills 
of  the  jackhammer  type  and  three  of  the  stoper  type.  The  former  are  often  used 
attached  to  a light  column.  The  ore  drills  easily  and  shoots  well,  35^o  galatin 
explosive  being  used. 

The  ore  broken  in  development  work  is  shoveled  into  one- ton,  24”  gage, 
steel  cars,  trammed  by  hand  to  the  shaft,  dumped  directly  into  a one- ton,  30”  gage, 
steel,  self-dumping  skip  and  hoisted  to  the  surface.  At  the  surface  the  skip  is 
hoisted  up  a wooden  trestle  450  feet  long,  set  at  an  inclination  of  about  18°,  to 
the  top  of  the  rock  house. 

The  surface  equipment  at  the  mine  consists  of  a single-stage,  14”  x 16”, 

480  cu.ft.  air  compressor  belted  to  a 150-h.p.,  2200-volt  induction  motor,  and  a 
machine  shop.  The  present  shop  is  fairly  well  equipped  but  a new  shop  is  being 
built,  which  will  house  a lathe,  drill  press,  pipe  machine,  and  drill  sharpener. 

The  hoist,  which  is  located  in  the  rock  house  at  the  mill,  is  a 3-ton  hoist  geared 
to  a 50-h.p.,  220-volt,  A.C.  motor. 


Milling. 

At  the  top  of  the  trestle  connecting  the  mine  and  the  mill  are  two  dumping 
places  at  either  of  which  a trip  may  bo  set  to  dump  the  skip  automatically,  In 
this  way  the  crude  storage  bin  may  be  filled  to  hold  400  tons  without  shoveling. 

At  the  bottom  of  the  bin  the  ore  is  shoveled  into  a 12”  x 28”  jaw  crusher,  large 
blocks  being  sledged  by  hand.  From  here  the  progress  of  the  ore  through  the  mill 
may  be  followed  on  the  appended  flow  sheet.  The  tube  mills  are  of  the  trunnion 
type,  belt  driven  by  individual  150  hp.,  2200-volt,  3-phase,  60-cycle  induction 
motors.  These  mills  use  106  to  108  hp.  each  when  in  motion  under  full  load.  Two 
mills  are  lined  with  silex  and  one  with  porcelain  brick,  Each  uses  a 12-ton  charge 
of  flint  pebbles,  about  300  lb.  being  added  every  three  months  to  compensate  for 
wear.  A second  set  of  three  mills  is  held  in  reserve.  The  mill  capacity  is  about 
two  tons  per  hour  for  the  tube  mills  and  one  ton  per  hour  for  the  Raymond  mill. 

The  finished  talc  is  packed  in  50-lb.  paper,  50-lb.  cloth,  100-lb.  cloth, 
or  200-lb.  burlap  sacks  and  either  trucked  directly  to  cars  or  to  a storage  house. 
The  storage  of  talc  in  paper  sacks  has  not  been  found  very  desirable  due  to  break- 
age and  waste  in  handling,  and  the  erection  of  large  bins  for  the  storage  of 
finished  talc  before  bagging  has  been  considered.  The  present  storage  capacity  for 
bagged  talc  is  about  2500  tons.  Most  of  the  electric  current  for  the  mine  and  mill 
is  purchased  from  a local  power  company,  but  a hydro-electric  plant  owned  by  the 
company,  synchronized  with  the  public  service  power,  is  capable  of  furnishing  about 
150  kw.  at  high  water. 


-4- 


FLOW  SHEET  OF  MILL  OF  THE  ST.  ‘LAWRENCE  TALC  CO. , NATURAL  BRIDGE 


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. ["Product 

Capacity 72  tons  per  24-nr.  day.  1 bagged,  1 jund  4,  1920. 


m mat 

OF  THE 

£P.r : . 


Uniform  Fibrous  Talc  Co.,  Talcvlllo,  New  York, 


The  mine  and  mill  of  the  -uniform  Fibrous  Talc  Co.,  are  at  Talcville,  St. 
Lawrence  County,  New  York,  on  the  Edwards  branch  of  the  New  York  Central  R.  R. 
about  eleven  miles  from  Gouverneur.  Production  from  the  original  mine  began  in 
1911  and  continued  in  increasing  quantity  until  1919  when  cave-ins  compelled  the 
closing  of  the  old  mine.  Immediately  diamond  drilling  was  started  and  several  new 
veins  a short  distance  to  the  west  of  the  old  workings  were  discovered,  A new 
vertical  shaft,  7'  x 9’,  has  been  sunk,  to  cut  the  new  veins,  to  a depth  of  140 
feet.  The  first  40  feet  of  this  shaft  cut  water-bearing  strata  and  the  water  was 
sealed  off  by  cement  grouting  under  pressure.  This  section  was  then  lined  with  con- 
crete. The  shaft  is  divided  into  two  compartments,  a skip  way  and  a ladderway  with 
sollars  or  landings  at  15-foot  intervals- 

In  order  to  obtain  immediate  production  a small  vein,  encountered  in  the 
shaft,  has  been  opened  at  the  130-foot  level.  A winze  is  now  being  sunk  in  this 
vein  and  the  shaft  will  be  deepened  to  at  least  200  feet  by  raising  from  below,  thus 
enabling  production  to  be  continued  while  deepening  the  shaft.  From  the  bottom  of 
the  shaft  crosscuts  will  be  driven  not  only  to  develop  the  new  veins  but  also  to 
reopen  the  old  mine  and  recover  the  remaining  talc. 

As  the  old  workings  were  inaccessible  at  the  time  of  the  inspection  (June, 
1920)  and  the  new  mine  was  not  extensively  developed,  the  method  of  mining  which 
will  be  followed  had  not  been  decided  upon. 

Ore  from  the  mine  is  hoisted  to  the  surface  in  a one- ton  steel  skip  and 
thence  over  an  inclined  trestle  across  the  railroad  siding  to  the  "rock  house"  in 
which  is  located  the  hoist.  The  hoist  is  geared  to  a 52-hp.,  220-volt,  138-ampere, 
3-pnase,  60-cycle,  induction  motor.  In  the  power  house,  close  by,  is  a 2-stago, 
14"x9"xl0",  200-250  cu.ft,  air  compressor  belted  to  a 50-hp.,  220-volt,  124-ampere, 
3-phase,  60-cycle  induction  motor.  Air  pressure  maintained  at  tho  drills  is  about 
80  lb.  per  square  inch. 


Milling 

The  ore  skip  is  dumped  automatically  in  a chute  leading  to  a picking  floor 
at  the  top  of  the  rock  house.  Here  waste  is  sorted  out,  thrown  into  a chute  lead- 
ing to  a waste  car  and  trammed  out  on  the  waste  dump.  The  ore  is  shovelled  into  a 
chute  leading  to  a 150-ton  rode  bin.  At  the  bottom  of  the  bin  large  lumps  are 
broken  down  with  sledges  and  the  ore  is  fed  by  shovel  into  a 10"  x 16"  jaw  crusher. 
Progress  of  the  ore  through  the  plant  may  be  followed  from  the  appended  flow  shoot. 

This  plant  is  perhaps  typical  of  the  talc  plants,  using  intermittent  dump 
cylinders,  or  short  pebble  mills.  The  cylinders  are  of  steel,  6 feet  in  diameter 
by  8 feet  long,  and  are  lined  with  porcelain  brick,  A charge  consisting  of  one  ton 
of  talc  and  three  tons  of  flint  pebbles  is  revolved  at  222  to  23  revolutions  per 
minute  for  a period  of  four  to  seven  hours.  The  finishing  point  is  determined  by 
visual  inspection  of  the  product,  Uhcn  tho  grinding  is  completed  the  charging  door 


-6- 


. 

■ 


* 


' 


is  removed,  a grating  to  hold  back  the  pebbles  placed  over  the  opening,  and  the 
mill  revolved  until  the  talc  all  flows  out  into  a hopper  beneath.  At  the  bottom 
of  each  hopper,  which  serves  two  mills  in  parallel,  is  a screw  conveyor  which 
transfers  the  talc  to  an  elevator,  and  thence  to  a 16-mosh  revolving  screen. 

This  screen  is  intended  to  remove  broken  pebbles,  sticks,  and  coarse  impurities. 

It  is  estimated  that  80 $ of  the  finished  product  is  packed  in  50-pound  paper  sacks 

The  total  horsepower  installed  at  the  mine  and  mill  is  500  hp.,  of  which 
the  mill  installation  is  about  375  hp.  The  mill  load  is  stated  to  be  about  350  hp 
Of  the  total  electric  power  used  about  70 fo  is  obtained  from  a hydroelectric  plant, 
owned  by  the  company,  on  the  Oswegatchie  River,  and  the  remainder  is  bought  from 
a public  service  company. 


-7- 


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FLOW  SHEET  OF  toI7,L  OF  TtiF  U.IFOBm  FIBROUS  TALC  CO.  , TALC V ILLS,  N.  Y. 


Mina  ^skip 
Sorting  fleer 

i i 

Talc  ^Vaste 

T" 

Chute  Dump 

15C- ten  bin 

^Sledge  and  shovel 
10"  x 16"  .jaw  crusner  (to  1-1/2") 

Belt  conveyor 

^ m"  x 24"  roils  (to  1/2") 

Elevator 

31  x 61  troumel  (1/2"  punched  plate) 


Conveyor 

Chute 


Undersize 

1 

Chute 


B jn 


Conveyor 

Elevator 

I I 

20- ton  bin  15- ton  bir.  (emergency) 

I ' 

Chute 

8 1 Hardin^e  q.ill 


t 

Chute 


42"  horizontal  buhr  n,i  1 1 
(emergency) 


Bin 

T 

g1  Hardince  mill 

Elevator 

Conveyor 

Bin 

T 

Chvjte 

1-ton  char.-,  ing  cars  on  platform  scales 

Eifrnt  6'  x g1  dump  cylinders 

. 

Screw  conveyor 

Elevator 

3’  x 8'  trommel  (16-mesh  screen) 


Undersize 


Screw  conveyor 

Elevator 

~r~ 

Conveyer 

Distributing  ccnveycr 

1 

15- ton  bin 

Two  c.ecnanical  packers 


Oversize 

I 

'Vaata 


Capacity:-  38  tons 
per  24- nr.  day. 


, Product  , 
I bagged.  1 


June  Q,  1920. 


International  Pulp  Co.,  Gouvemeur,  New  York. 


The  mines  and  mills  of  the  International  Pulp  Co.  are  located  in  St. 
Lawrence  County,  New  York,  between  Gouvorneur  and  Talcville  along  the  Edwards 
Branch  of  the  New  York  Central  R.  R.  This  company  has  been  operating  for  many 
years  and  has  consolidated  with  it  the  properties  formerly  operated  by  the  Union 
Talc  Co.,  and  the  United  States  Talc.  Co.  It  is  stated  that  the  company  now  owns 
or  leases  four  mines  and  operates  four  mills.  Of  the  mines  the  No.  2g  and  No.  4 
at  Talcville  are  the  only  ones  on  the  railroad;  of  the  four  mills  only  two,  Nos.  3 
and  6,  are  on  the  railroad.  This  arrangement  necessitates  considerable  hauling  or 
double  hauling  for  distances  up  to  7 miles  by  wagons  in  summer  or  sleds  in  winter. 
As  the  writer  was  allowed  to  visit  only  one  mine,  the  Wight , which  has  not  been  in 
operation  for  some  time,  and  only  one  mill,  No.  6,  the  descriptions  are  incomplete. 
Some  of  the  information  given  was  obtained  from  publications,  some  from  personal 
examination,  and  some  from  other  sources. 


Mining. 

\ 

i 

The  mining  method  here  described  refers  only  to  the  Wight  mine,  but  it  is 
said  to  be  typical  of  the  other  mines  of  the  company,  The  vein  worked  at  the  Wight 
mine  varies  from  6 feet  to  25  feet  thick  and  lias  an  average  dip  of  35  . The  mine 
is  opened  by  an  inclined  shaft  driven  in  the  vein  to  a depth  of  350  feet.  At 
intervals  of  50  feet  vertically,  drifts  or  levels  are  driven  in  the  vein  in  each 
direction  from  the  shaft.  These  drifts  are  cut  about  20  feet  high  and  20  feet  wide, 
or  the  width  of  the  vein  where  it  is  less  than  20  feet  and  are  arched  at  the  top. 
After  leaving  a shaft  pillar,  raises  are  driven  about  20  feet  wide  and  the  thick- 
ness of  the  vein,  to  the  level  above.  Pillars  about  30  feet  wide  are  left  between 
raises.  There  is  practically  no  timber  used  in  the  mine.  Ore  from  the  raises  rolls 
down  the  slope  to  the  drift,  where  it  is  shovelled  into  cars,  trammed  by  hand  to 
the  shaft,  and  dumped  directly  into  the  skip.  It  is  stated  that  about  60$  of  the 
ore  is  removed  in  the  first  mining. 

Drilling  is  done  by  compressed-air  drills  of  the  jackhammer  type  used 
either  alone  or  mounted  on  light  columns  or  tripods.  In  blasting  40$  nitro  starch 
explosive  is  used.  Pumping,  which  is  not  an  important  item,  is  done  by  a steam 
pump  on  the  250-foot  level. 

At  the  surface  the  skip  dumps  the  talc  automatically  to  the  floor  of  a 
rock  house.  Here  waste  is  separated  from  talc  by  hand,  loaded  into  cars  and 
trammed  out  onto  a waste  dump.  The  talc  is  similarly  loaded  into  cars,  trammed  out 
on  a trestle  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  rock  house  and  dumped  on  a stock  pile. 

When  the  mine  is  running,  the  ore  is  hauled  by  wagon  to  the  Columbia  No.  3 and  No. 

5 mills. 


Milling. 

Of  the  mills  of  this  company  only  the  No.  6 was  examined.  This  mill,  which 
is  their  largest  and  best  equipped,  was  built  in  1909.  It  is  located  in  the 
village  of  Hailesboro  about  two  miles  from  Gouvemeur.  Ore  from  the  mines  is 
brought  into  the  mill  in  standard-gage  railway  cars,  and  unloaded  either  into  a 


-9- 


. 


largo  concroto  bin  or  into  a chute  which  leads  directly  to  the  primary  jaw  crusher. 
Two  crushers  are  in  use,  a 30”  x 36”  which  is  the  main  crusher,  and,  a 13”  x 28” 
^vhich  is  held  in  reserve.  The  progress  of  the  ore  through  the  mill  is  approximate- 
ly as  represented  on  the  appended , flow  sheet.  The  tube  mills  used  are  set  in  two 
lines  of  four  each  in  tandem,  each  line  being,  driven  by  shafting  as  one  -unit. 

The  discharge  from  each  tube  mill  is  olevated  to  the  top  of  the  building  and  con- 
voyed by  chutes  to  the  next  tube  mill.  The  capacity  of  each  line  is  about  two 
tons  per  hour  which  gives  a total  mill  capacity  of  about  four  tons  per  hour. 

Most  of  the  mills  are  lined  with  silex  but  some  are  lined  with  porcelain  brick. 
Each  mill  requires  about  150  hp.  giving  a total  of  1200  hp.  for  the  tube  mills 
alone . 


Large  storage  capacity  for  crude  ore  and  for  finished  talc  in  bags  is 
supplied.  On  account  of  loss  by  breakage  in  handling  talc  in  paper  bags,  an  effort 
is  made  to  store  most  of  the  finished  talc  in  burlap  bags.  For  normal  shipments 
50-lb.  paper  and  100  and  200  lb.  cloth  bags  are  used. 

Most  of  the  power  for  this  mill  is  supplied  by  water  from  the  Oswegatchie 
River,  which  flows  by  the  mill.  This  water-power  development  furnishes  about  1500 
hp . to  the  mill  at  high  water,  and  some  additional  electric  power  is  used.  Power 
is  distributed  to  the  main  shafts  of  the  mill  by  rope  drive.  It  is  stated  that  the 
operation  of  the  mill  is  sometimes  hampered  by  lack  of  water  power. 

The  other  mills  of  the  company  were  not  visited  but  it  is  reported  that 
they  differ  from  the  No.  6 principally  in  that  they  use  the  intermittent  dump 
cylinders  instead  of  the  continuous  tube  mills.  The  accompanying  approximate  flow 
sheet  of  No.  3 mill  is  said  to  be  typical. 

The  total  production  of  the  mills  of  this  comparer,  in  June,  1920,  probably 
averaged  between  150  and  200  tons  per  24-hour  day  but  the  capacity  is  much  higher. 


-10- 


FLOW  SHEET  OF  NO,  6 MILL  OF  THE  INTERNATIONAL  PULP  CO. , GOUVERNEUR,  NEW  YORE. 


S t andard  page  car  s 


Chute 

3Q11  x 3&11  ja-w  crusher  (2"  to  2-1  /2 11  size)  (has  13"x  28"  auxiliary  crusher) 

Conveyor 

‘ l 

42”  rolls  (to  1") 

~~~f 

28"  rolls  (to  1/2") 

Elevator 

I 

3*  x 10*  trommel  (1/2 11  punched  plate) 


Oversize  Undersize 


Four  6T  x 24 1 tube  mills 
in  tandrm 


Elevator 


Four  6l  x 24'  tube  mills 
in  tandem 


Elevator 


42"  x 10 1 screen 
Oversize 

Waste 

11 


(22  mesh) 

“T~ 

Undersize 


42"  x 10'  screen 


Undersize 


Conveyor 


steel  bins  (10-20  ton,  1-10  ton) 

11  mechanical  packers 

Product 

bagged. 


(22  mesh) 

| 

Oversize 

Waste 


Capacity:  100  tons 
per  24-hr , day. 


-11- 


June  8y  1920. 


i 


. ¥ 


FLOW  SHEET  OF  NO.  3 MILL  OF  THE  INTERNATIONAL  PULP  CO. , GOUVERNEUR,  NEW  YORE. 


Crude  ore 

Jaw  crusher  (to  2") 

14"  x 28"  rolls 


Rotary  crusher  (to  3 /4"  to  1") 

Bin 

Three  Griffin  mills  ^(about  60 ^ 150  mesh) 

Charging  cars 

Three  sets  of  3 dump  cylinders  each 

Hoppers 


Conveyors 

Elevator 

42"  x 10*  screen  (20-22  mesh) 


Undersize 


b! 

n 

Product 

bagged. 

Oversize 


Waste 


June  8,  1920. 


-12- 


U.  H.  Loomis  Talc  Corporation,  Gouverneur,  New  York . 


The.YL  H.  Loomis  Talc  Corporation  first  started  operations  early  in  1919, 
and  as  yet  has  shipped  only  crude  talc.  A mill  site  has  been  acquired  on  the 
Edwards  "branch  of  the  New  York  Central  Railroad,  about  six  miles  from  Gouverneur , 
and  a mill  is  under  construction.  The  company  obtains  its  ore  from  the  Arnold 
mine  which  was  formerly  operated  by  the  Union  Talc  Co.,  and  the  International  Pulp 
Co.,  in  succession. 

The  Arnold  mine  is  located  in  the  town  of  Fowler  about  six  miles  from 
Gouverneur  and  two  miles  from  both  the  present  shipping  point  and  from  the  site  of 
the  new  mill.  This  mine  is  opened  by  an  inclined  shaft  in  tho  vein,  starting  at 
a dip  of  55°  and  gradually  changing  to  about  62a°,  to  a depth  of  about  222  feet 
vertically.  Three  levels  are  now  open  at  depths  of  about  125,  168,  and  222  feet 
vertically.  The  first  or  top  level  has  been  worked  out.  \7ork  is  now  being  done 
only  on  the  bottom  level.  Drifts,  varying  in  length  from  20  to  over  400  feet  have 
been  driven  on  each  level.  The  vein  or  system  of  veins  has  a total  widtji,  as  how 
exposed  (the  hanging  or  foot  wall  on  the  fourth  level  has  not  been  found),  of  about 
146  feet.  A typical  section  from  foot  wall  to  hanging  wall  isj  - talc  13  feet, 
waste  2 feet,  talc  65  feet,  waste  17  feet,  talc  7 feet,  waste  2 feet,  talc  28  feet, 
waste  1 foot,  talc  11  feet,  no  hanging  wall;  total  124  feet  of  talc  and  22  feet  of 
waste.  The  waste  is  so  located  that  part  may  be  left  standing  as  pillars,  part 
stowed  underground,  and  a small  amount  hoisted. 

An  interesting  feature  of  this  mine  is  the  numerous  varieties  of  talc 
found  here.  Practically  all  the  varieties  of  fibrous,  massive  and  foliated  talc 
found  in  the  Gouverneur  district  were  observed.  In  portions  of  the  mine  the 
segregation  of  varieties  is  such  as  to  suggest  the  possibility  of  mining  ’several 
grades  separately  or  at  least  of  making  such  a separation  at  the  surface.  Very 
good  specimens  of  hexagonite,  a pink  variety  of  tremolite  containing  manganese, 
are  also  found. 

As  the  present  management  has  devoted  most  of  its  time  to  developmenr  work 
on  the  fourth  level,  no  method  of  mining  has  been  adopted.  The  method  formerly 
followed  by  previous  owners  probably  was  similar  to  that  at  the  Y/ight  mine  of  the 
International  Pulp  Co , , described  elsewhere  in  this  report. 

Both  the  ore  and  the  rock  arc  strong  and  stand  well,  practically  no  timber 

being  used.  The  shaft  is  8-jj  x 9 ft.  in  the  cle*ar  and  is  timbered  only  with  a few 

sets  at  the  top.  A ladder-way,  following  down  beside  the  skipway,  has  sollars  20 
to  30  feet  apart  vertically.  Steel  cars,  holding  about  tons  are  dumped  directly 
into  a skip  of  the  same  capacity.  Drainage,  which  is  not  a serious  item,  is  cared 
for  by  a steam  pump,  having  a capacity  of  100  gallons  per  minute  which  is  run  l-g* 
to  2 hours  per  day. 

At  the  surface  the  skip  automatically  dumps  the  ore  to  tho  floor  of  a rock 

house,  where  the  waste  is  sorted  out  and  trammed  to  a waste  dump.  The  talc  is 

either  dropped  through  openings  in  the  floor  into  bins  with  a total  capacity  of 
about  30  tons  or  trammed  out  on  a stocking  trestle  and  dumped.  The  bins  are  pro- 
vided with  chutes  from  which  wagons  are  loaded.  In  the  power  house  are  a 15-hp, 
belt-driven  hoist,  a 40-b.  hp . locomotive-type  boiler,  and  an  8"  x 8"  single-stage 
air  compressor. 

The  ore  at  present  is  either  stocked  or  hauled  to  the  railroad  and  shipped 
in  the  crude  state. 


-13- 


PROPOSED  FLOW  SHEET  OF  MILL  OF  THE 

W.  H.  LOOMIS  TALC  CORPORATION,  EMERYVILLE  (6  miles  east  of  Gouverneur)  NEW  YORF. 


Rock  "bin 


12n  x 18”  jaw  crusher 

Elevator 


Elevator  Dump 

~ I 

50- ton  “bin 

Finished  product  j 

bagged, j 

June  9.  1920. 


-14- 


\ 


The  mill  that  will  grind  this  talc  is  now  under^eonstruction.  The  plans 
may  be  changed  somewhat,  but  the  probable  method  of  milling  is  shown  in  the  appends 
flow  sheet*  This  flow  sheet  is  of  special  interest  because  it  indicates  a radical 
departure  from  the  methods  formerly  and  at  present  used  in  this  district"?  By  the 
use  of  air  separators  an  attempt  will  be  made  to  eliminate  the  large  amount  of 
waste  energy  incident  to  the  use  of  several  tube  mills  in  tandem.  If  this  mill  is 
successful  it  will  mark  an  important  step  in  the  progress  of  talc  milling.  The 
enterprise  of  this  company  in  seeking  to  devise  better  methods  is  to  be  commended. 
U.  S«  Bureau  of  Mines,  Heports  of  Investigations. 


